Enhancing Quality in Higher Education

Interest in the quality of higher education provision has been steadily increasing over the last twenty years. This has been driven largely by the international creation of explicit policies and reporting requirements to review, audit and evaluate provision. The interest is associated in many countries with the granting by governments of greater autonomy to higher education institutions. This, crucially, comes bound with increased requirements for accountability in the exercise of such power. Enhancing provision, promoting innovation, cultivating exploration and adopting information-led approaches to practice are at the very heart of higher education. As such quality enhancement comes in many guises and is under constant scrutiny.Enhancing Quality in Higher Education looks critically at recent developments in higher education, taking snapshots of changing practices around the world and analysing the varied theoretical perspectives of quality enhancement that are emerging. The opening section draws upon this theoretical base, whilst the second section contextualises it through the analysis of a diverse range of international case studies. The concluding section considers future prospects for the enhancement agenda in the light of the international pressures facing all systems of higher education in the future. Policy will inevitably be shaped by the historical contexts within which national systems are located. The book draws on a wide range of international case studies, examined by a host of contributing experts. The movement towards quality enhancement can be seen as stimulating action at the grassroots of the academy to self-generate improvement. It is a counter to the prevalent view that change in higher education is essentially about the institutional response to increasing societal pressure and state control and, as such, is a welcome contribution to the literature. This comprehensive volume is essential reading for anyone involved in higher education and educational policy.

Autorentext

Ray Land is Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Centre for Academic Practice, Durham University.

George Gordon is Emeritus Professor, Educational Enhancement, University of Strathclyde.

Inhalt

Section 1 - Theorising Enhancement 1. Meanings of Enhancement Ray Land & George Gordon 2. Quality culture at what cost? Pursuing educational excellence in straitened times Catherine Owen 3. Achieving the focus on enhancement? Don F.Westerheijden 4. Using Research Findings to Inform Quality Enhancement Mantz Yorke Section 2 - Enhancement in Context: International Perspectives 5. Quality Enhancement in England: from funded projects to student-led demand David Gosling 6. 'To See Ourselves As Others See Us': The Scottish Approach to Quality Enhancement Ray Land & George Gordon 7. Quality Enhancement in American Higher Education Mary Deane Sorcinelli & Ann E. Garner 8. Enhancing Quality - A Finnish Perspective Outi Kallioinen 9. Contributions of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to Quality Enhancement in Canada Gary Poole & Nicola Simmons 10. Quality Enhancement: the Australian Scene Kerri-Lee Krause 11. The Portuguese Case: Can Institutions Move to Quality Enhancement? Alberto Amaral, Maria João Rosa & Madalena Fonseca 12. Enhancing the quality of higher education in the Czech Republic: past, present, and future challenges Helena sebková & Jan Kohoutek 13. Enhancement or Transformation? The Significance and Dimensions of Quality Enhancement in Higher Education in South Africa Ian Scott & Katherine Luckett 14. *Obstacles to Improvement in Higher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina *Hugh Glanville 15. Quality Enhancement in Turkish Higher Education Gülsün Saglamer 16. The four year degree in Hong Kong: An opportunity for Quality Enhancement Mike Prosser 17. The Present Situation of Quality Enhancement in Japan Reiko Yamada 18. How a nationwide student uprising brought about transformative quality enhancement in Sri Lankan higher education Suki Ekaratne & Shrinika Weerakoon 19. Enhancing the Quality of Higher Education in Vietnam Nguyen Phuong Nga 20. The Impact of Quality Improvement on University Work: an Overview In Seven Ibero-American Countries Mariajose Lemaitre, Daniela Torre, Gonzalo Zapata & Elisa Zenteno Section 3 - Conclusion 21. Enhancing the Future: context and fidelity Ray Land & George Gordon